Running-board retainer.



F. MATHEWS.

RUNNING BOARD RETAINER. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 19. ms.

1,209,?41. Patented Dec. 26,1916.

&

7 for holding down the ends of said running-- "barren sra rns rarnnr oration.

FRED MATHEWS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' neoaaai.

that support them.

Estimate-BOARD RETAINER.

To all whomz't may concern: 1 i 1 Be it known that I, FRED MA'rr-inws,'a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Running-Board Retainers, of which the following is a-full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to retainers for running-boards of box-cars, that is, to means boards and securing the same to the saddles The object of IIlYdIlVQIlillOIr is to provide simple means which will secure and hold the ends of the alining planks of the running board to the saddle upon which they are supported without the necessity of nails or bolts, and thus keep the ends of the boards in alinernent and at the same level, and avoid the presence of nail-heads and bolts, which,

in the freight cars'nowin extensive use,

work loose and project up above the upper surfaces of the planks and trip the brakemodified construction of my invention.

men and often times cause serious injuries to them for which the railroad companies have to pay. This I accomplish by the means hereinafter fully explained, and as particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 1s aperspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a trans verse section of the roof of afreight car showing my improved retainer applied thereto. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectiontaken on dotted line i- 3, Fig. 2, and drawn to a larger scale. Fig. 4: is a perspective. (if a 1g: 5 is. a perspective view of yet another modification of the same. j

Referring to the drawings, A represents the roof of a box-car, which may be con structed in any suitable manner; B repre sents the saddles for the running-board that are secured transversely in theusual manner over the ridge of the roof, and C represents the planks of the running board.

My improved retainer consists of arectangular tubular cast metal member having a bottom-plate a the length of which is slightly greater than the'width of the top of saddle B, and thewidth of which is slightly greater than the width of a plank of the running-board; a top-plate 0, preferably, corresponding in dimensions tothe bottom-plate a, and vertical side-walls b which connect said bottom and top-plate.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Appli ation filed October 19, 1916. Serial No. 126,474.

The transverse end edges of bottom-plate a secure the retainer to the saddle.

It is customary to use three parallel planks n each running-board, and to break the joints of alining planksso as to minimize the danger of tripping on the same.

My improved retainer can be utilized in cars where it is desired tothus break the joints of the planks, but it is unnecessary, when my invention is employed, to do so. I am, therefore, ableto use the full lengths of the planks and to have the j ointsthei'eof over any one of the saddles supporting the running-board and secure them to said saddleby my improved retainers.

When the oints of the planks of the running-board are thus arranged in the same transverse plane, I prefer, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, to slightly step lugs 6, say, at the left hand side of the retainer laterally outward from the side of the saddle, and to depress the outer surface of the right hand side of the lugs 6 so that the lugs of one retainer can overlap the lugs of the other retainer, and thus secure the adjacent ends of adjoining retainers to. the saddle by one boltinstead of two, which it would be necessary to employ were said retainers moved out of contact with each other.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, I show a modilication of my invention in which, instead of making the retainer tubularbv using topplate 0, the longitudinal sides of the bottomplate 3 are flanged upward and the upper edges of these flanges 2 are bent toward each other so as to provide overlying portions 4; thatwilllap over the side-edges of the ends of the planks and confine said ends and hold the joints securely within the embrace of the retainer. The transverse edges 5 of this modified retainer are flanged downward, the same as in the preferred form of my invention, and the ends of these downwardly flanged edges extend beyond the vertical plane of flanges 2 and are provided with lugs 6, the construction of which corresponds to that of lugs e of the preferred form.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, I show another modification, which consists of an angle-iron clip 7 the horizontal leg of which is adapted to overlap the side edges of the ends of the plank. These clips are provided at each end with lugs 8, 8, that are made i11- tegral with and project laterally from the lower corners of the vertical member of the angle-iron clip in a direction opposite to that from which the overlying horizontal portion of the same projects. One of these clips 7 is used on each side of the plank, and lugs 8, 8, thereof are provided with openings 9 therein for the passage of the bolt that is used to secure the same to the saddle.

It will be noticed that the underside of top-plate 0 of the preferred tubular form of my invention, next to side-walls b thereof,

is beveled, and also that the underside of the overlapping portions of flanges 2 of the modification, shown in Fig. 5 are beveled. This is done so as to make the workman gain the retainers of the modified forms into the ends of the running-board planks so that the upper surfaces of the horizontal overlying portions of the longitudinal sides thereof will be flush with the upper surfacesof said planks, and so as to prevent the said planks from creeping or having longitudinal play. All that the car builder has to do is to bevel away the side edges of the ends of the planks slightly, with a hatchet or any other suitable means, and thus shape the ends of said planks so that they can be easily inserted in the retainers.

These retainers may be made either of cast metal, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, or may be made of sheet metal, as shown in Fig. 5, and they may be secured to the saddles by either bolts or nails or spikes. Such changes I consider as coming within the scope of my invention.

lWhat I claim as new:

1. A retainer for the planks of the running-boards of a box-car comprising upwardly projecting longitudinal members whose upper edges are provided with horizontal portions the undersides of which are beveled and are adapted to overlap the side edges of said planks, and downwardly projecting lugs that are adapted to be secured to the saddles supporting said running-boards.

2. A retainer for the planks of the running-boards of a box-car consisting of a plate having upwardly projecting longitudinal sides whose upper edges are provided with horizontal portions that project toward each other therefrom, and having transverse edges that are provided with downwardly projecting attaching members.

3. A retainer for the planks of the running-board of a box-car comprising a plate having upwardly projecting longitudinal sides whose upper edges are provided with horizontal portions that project therefrom toward each other and having transverse edges that are provided with downwardly projecting flanges the ends of which project beyond the longitudinal sides of said plate and are adapted to be secured to the saddle upon which said running-board is supported.

47. A retainer for the planks of the running-board of a box car comprising a plate having upwardly projecting longitudinal sides whose upperedges are provided with horizontal portions that project therefrom toward each other and having transverse edges that are provided with downwardly projecting flanges the ends of which project beyond the longitudinal sides of said plate and. form lugs which at one end of said plate are separated more than those at the other and are adaptedto be secured to the saddle upon which said running-board is supported. 5. A retainer for the planks of the run hing-board of a box-car comprising a rectangular tubular retainer adapted to receive the ends of alining planks of said board and having its transverse edges flanged clownward and adapted to be secured to the saddle upon which said running-board is supported. i

-6. A retainer for the planks of the runhing-board of a box-car comprising a rectangular tubular retainer adapted to re ceive the ends of alining planks of said board and having its transverse edges flanged downward and the ends of said flanged portion extended beyond the longitudinal sides of the retainer, and adapted h to be secured to the saddle upon which said running-board is supported.

7. A retainer for the planks of the running-board of a box-car comprising a rectangular tubular retainer, the underside of the portions of the top of the bore of which next the side-walls thereof being beveled or inclined downward, and adapted to receive the ends of alining planks of said board and having its transverse edges flanged v downward and the endsof said flanged por-l tion extended beyond the longitudinal sides of the retainer, and adapted to be secured to the saddle upon which said running-board is supported.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of October, 1916.

" FRED MATHEWS. Witnesses:

FRANK D. TI-IoMAsoN, F. MITCHELL.

copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I). G. I a 

